Valtos Leptokaryas

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At the site of Valtos Leptokaryas ( Greek Βάλτος Λεπτοκαρυάς , "swamp of Leptokarya"), settlement remains from different epochs of the Bronze Age and Christianity were discovered. The place was inhabited for centuries.

location

The excavation site is located east of the Athens - Thessaloniki highway , north of the village of Leptokarya , near the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line; it is between 5 and 13 meters above sea level.

Excavation history

Parts of a settlement were discovered when the track collapsed during work to tunnel under the track system. The excavation work began in 2000, but was then interrupted. It was not until March 2006 that the excavations, financed by the development and construction company ERGOSE of the Greek railway company OSE , were resumed in the vicinity of the original site. Machines had destroyed part of the original settlements. The work was finished at the end of 2006. Traces of settlements from three different epochs have been found. On a layer of remains from possibly Neolithic times (suspected, but not archaeologically confirmed) graves, many movable artifacts, the foundations of buildings and wall remains were found. Among other things, C14 radiocarbon dating was used to determine the age of the finds in the various layers .

The archaeological site is divided chronologically into:

  • Valtos 1: 1300 to 1100 BC Chr.
  • Valtos 2: 1670 to 1505 BC Chr.
  • Valtos 3: 1930 to 1745 BC Chr.
  • Valtos 4: a Neolithic building under Valtos 1 to 3, which, however, has not been confirmed

The discovery of parts of a wall surrounding the settlement suggested an organized community. Why the settlement was abandoned is unclear, but archaeologists found a layer of destruction caused by a fire.

Graves

Apart from simple pits were also tumuli exposed. The largest grave had a diameter of 5.80 meters and a height of 90 centimeters. Several people were buried in it, and it was partially destroyed by machines and water. The second largest grave has a diameter of 2.90 meters.

Finds

The corpse of a woman was adorned with earrings, which consist of a golden strip encircling a copper spiral. The woman wore a necklace with gold, bronze, glass and stone ornaments on it. In addition to jewelry, clay pots and other objects were placed in their graves.

In addition to stone tools, many clay pots were brought to light. Most of them were hand-sculpted, with few showing signs of being made with a potter's wheel . Only a minority were painted, glossy glazed or otherwise decorated. Other pottery items were weights that were used for fishing or weaving. Hooks and knife handles were made of bone. Bronze tools such as needles or axes have been exposed more rarely.

literature

  • Greek Ministry of Culture (Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης) The Archaeological Work in Macedonia and Thrace Volume 18, 2004-, ISS 1106-, ISSN
  • Efi Poulaki-Pantermali: Makedonikos Olympos. Myth - Istoria - Archäologia. Ed .: Greek Ministry of Culture and Sport, Thessaloniki 2013, ISBN 978-960-386-110-2

Remarks

  1. ↑ Efi Poulaki-Panter Mali: Makedonikos Olympos. Myth - Istoria - Archäologia. Ed .: Greek Ministry of Culture and Sport, Thessaloniki 2013, page 39, ISBN 978-960-386-110-2
  2. ↑ Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ( Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης ) The Archaeological Work in Macedonia and Thrace Volume 18, 2004, Page 397, ISSN 1106-5311. Retrieved January 17, 2019 .
  3. ↑ ERGOSE. Retrieved August 19, 2018 .
  4. ↑ ΕΦΟΡΕΙΑ ΠΡΟΪΣΤΟΡΙΚΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΚΛΑΣΙΚΩΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΟΤΗΤΩΝ, ΠΙΕΡΙΑ , Valtos Leptokaryas, page 206. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Efi Poulaki-Panter Mali: Makedonikos Olympos. Myth - Istoria - Archäologia. Ed .: Greek Ministry of Culture and Sport, Thessaloniki 2013, page 39, ISBN 978-960-386-110-2
  6. ↑ Efi Poulaki-Panter Mali: Makedonikos Olympos. Myth - Istoria - Archäologia. Ed .: Greek Ministry of Culture and Sport, Thessaloniki 2013, page 41, ISBN 978-960-386-110-2
  7. ↑ Efi Poulaki-Panter Mali: Makedonikos Olympos. Myth - Istoria - Archäologia. Ed .: Greek Ministry of Culture and Sport, Thessaloniki 2013, page 44, ISBN 978-960-386-110-2
  8. ↑ Efi Poulaki-Panter Mali: Makedonikos Olympos. Myth - Istoria - Archäologia. Ed .: Greek Ministry of Culture and Sport, Thessaloniki 2013, page 41, ISBN 978-960-386-110-2

Coordinates: 40 ° 4 ′ 20 ″  N , 22 ° 33 ′ 39 ″  E